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One day after a massacre that left scores of Pakistani schoolchildren dead, members of the international diplomatic community arrived one by one at the High Commission of Pakistan in Ottawa on Wednesday to express their sympathies.
The Pakistan government has declared three days of mourning after the Taliban gunned down children and teachers at a military school in Peshawar on Monday. The attack killed 141 people, 132 of them children.
With freezing rain falling, and the flag hanging heavy at half-mast, diplomats and citizens came to the high commission to sign a book of condolences. (The high commission opens its doors again on Thursday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for people to sign the book.)
The high commissioner of Pakistan to Canada, Abrar Hashmi, welcomed everyone who arrived and shared his own personal connection to the tragedy.
Hashmi’s friend in Peshawar lost his wife and two daughters in the attack. The friend’s wife taught at the school, and the daughters were only eight and 10 years old.
“My friend is devastated and alone,” he said. “I belong to that region. We know people who’ve been directly affected. It’s heartbreaking.”
Diplomats from Ghana, Guatemala, Mexico and Nepal met with Hashmi. Wahid Sheerzuy from the Afghanistan embassy came to express his solidarity with Pakistan.
“We are neighbours,” Sheerzuy said as he shook hands with Hashmi.
Some members of the Pakistani community also came to express their sadness. Nasir Islam came to Canada more than 40 years ago. He had been back to Pakistan in November. But after the attack, he said, he feels like he should be there.
While Islam and Hashmi sat together, he tried to learn more from the high commissioner about those affected in the area. Hashmi showed him photos sent to him by a friend in Peshawar who saw the aftermath of the school. One photo showed blood stained floors and backpacks in an auditorium where many of the children were slain.
“Their only crime was going to school that morning,” Islam said.
On Thursday at 6 p.m., a public vigil will be held at city hall.
查看原文...
The Pakistan government has declared three days of mourning after the Taliban gunned down children and teachers at a military school in Peshawar on Monday. The attack killed 141 people, 132 of them children.
With freezing rain falling, and the flag hanging heavy at half-mast, diplomats and citizens came to the high commission to sign a book of condolences. (The high commission opens its doors again on Thursday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for people to sign the book.)
The high commissioner of Pakistan to Canada, Abrar Hashmi, welcomed everyone who arrived and shared his own personal connection to the tragedy.
Hashmi’s friend in Peshawar lost his wife and two daughters in the attack. The friend’s wife taught at the school, and the daughters were only eight and 10 years old.
“My friend is devastated and alone,” he said. “I belong to that region. We know people who’ve been directly affected. It’s heartbreaking.”
Diplomats from Ghana, Guatemala, Mexico and Nepal met with Hashmi. Wahid Sheerzuy from the Afghanistan embassy came to express his solidarity with Pakistan.
“We are neighbours,” Sheerzuy said as he shook hands with Hashmi.
Some members of the Pakistani community also came to express their sadness. Nasir Islam came to Canada more than 40 years ago. He had been back to Pakistan in November. But after the attack, he said, he feels like he should be there.
While Islam and Hashmi sat together, he tried to learn more from the high commissioner about those affected in the area. Hashmi showed him photos sent to him by a friend in Peshawar who saw the aftermath of the school. One photo showed blood stained floors and backpacks in an auditorium where many of the children were slain.
“Their only crime was going to school that morning,” Islam said.
On Thursday at 6 p.m., a public vigil will be held at city hall.
查看原文...
